UNCTAD provides intellectual leadership and serves as a source of expertise on science, technology and innovation (STI) and information and communication technologies (ICTs) policies for development.

UNCTAD’s activities in this area seek to bring the development perspective to international discussions, supporting consensus-building and capacity-building for sound, evidence-based, development-oriented policy in relevant areas.

STI, including ICTs, are an essential component of policies to promote development. They can serve as instruments for supporting relevant components of the national development agenda, helping local industry compete, generating better paying jobs, reducing poverty, promoting export diversification and catching up.

However, the assimilation, diffusion and application of scientific and technological knowledge require investments in human and physical capital, together with the establishment and nurturing of a national innovation system and a systematic effort to access and use relevant knowledge. Policies at the national and international levels are needed to organize and sustain those processes.

News

Mobile money – the use of cell phones for money transfers, payments and more sophisticated financial activities such as credit, savings, and insurance – is increasingly popular in East Africa. While it offers the potential for increased financial inclusion, it could benefit from region-wide rules to coordinate and harmonize regulations, UNCTAD study says.

During a parallel event to the ECOSOC meetings held recently in Geneva, experts argued that science, technology and innovation (STI) policy action was vital for development, and noted that both policy design and implementation posed important challenges for policymakers. ​

The country’s Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology has reviewed challenges that the nation faces, at the meeting that saw the presentation of UNCTAD’s Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Review of the Dominican Republic.​

Public procurement can play a major role in promoting information technology (IT) sector development in developing countries, a new joint study by UNCTAD and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) reveals.​